Never a Dull Moment

I can tell I'm already starting to get used to life here. Yesterday, Sunday, I attended church on the campus of Universite Protestante du Congo (UPC), which is where I'll be teaching English to pre-med students starting October 15. The service was a beautiful gift of hundreds of spirit-filled people. I enjoyed it immensely and realized without a doubt that I am in the right place.

Before church, I took a stroll around the campus and shot a few photos. An image tells 1000 words, but unfortunately, I'm still not able to get connected to the internet with my photos because of the security issue at the embassy. When I start at UPC, I should be able to send photos from my camera to the blog, so be patient. In the meantime, let me use text to describe the public areas. There is unfinished or destroyed construction everywhere; garbage, some smoldering, just in heaps along the walkways. Driving is difficult to describe because of the roads being all torn up so the cars go all over the road to avoid large the pitfalls. Pedestrians have no rights or rules. I have seen only one traffic signal so far in all of Kinshasa, (8 million people), but no one obeys it. If its red, and there are no cars, the drivers run it. There are basically no rules that are reinforced. All the houses of any substance are walled, which includes the house I hope to move into today, that is, if they fumigate it first for the rat population. I will most likely be securing a feline animal in order to keep the house "de-ratified." Mobutu, the previous president before Kabila, left devastation in his wake and no one has attended to it. My other English teacher friend, Carol and I walked to a pizza restaurant on Saturday and were careful to not fall in the large sewer pits along the street that should have grates over the top, but don't. Who knows what they could be used for, but if anything has a value, the people will take it.

Life is not dull here.

In the afternoon yesterday, I attended a farewell party for Dean, the gentleman who started the English Club and recently was Director of PR for UPC. The party was at Katya's, the head of the post. She invited all of the students from the English club, which was my first exposure to the "kids." They are delightful--many of them very articulate and witnesses to Christ. They seem very enthusiastic and eager to learn from their American English teacher. Thanks so much for your encouragement. I will do the best I can. Till the next time, I miss you all and enjoy hearing from you.